Mobile Banking: More Than Checking Your Account Balance

It’s no secret that mobile banking has become a part of consumers’ day-to-day life. Whether it is checking an account balance, or making a remote deposit from a smartphone, mobile banking is poised for significant growth in the next five years. Forrester Research Inc. approximates that 10 million Americans are currently using mobile-banking technology, and by 2015 that number could grow to 50 million.

In order to keep up with the speed of smartphone and tablet adoption, Gartner Inc. believes companies need to make mobile banking more versatile than ever. Analyst Stessa Cohen said, “While many of those consumers are comfortable using mobile apps to check their balances, companies need to work themselves more deeply into a mobile customer’s financial life or the work that goes into developing all of these mobile apps may wind up being ‘another cost center.’”

So, how can financial institutions keep their customers engaged on mobile platforms? A recent Bloomberg article outlined a few tactics, including offering coupons and promotions to shoppers and the ability to have face-to-face teleconferencing. As the adoption of smartphones and tablets continues to soar, Arah Erickson, head of Wells Fargo’s retail mobile banking division, summed up the importance of mobile banking by stating, “Mobile devices are changing consumers’ perceptions of how convenient financial transactions should be…today, convenience means the PC is across the room, and I don’t feel like booting it up.”

Does your FI offer mobile banking? What features do your members use most often? Let us know in the comments section below.